Josh Hamilton agrees to $125M, 5-year deal with Angels

Josh Hamilton agreed to a 5-year, $125 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Josh Hamilton left the Texas Rangers on Thursday and agreed to a $125 million, five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the slugging free-agent outfielder had reached a deal with the AL West rival Angels. Two people familiar with the talks disclosed the amount and length of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not final.

Hamilton's $25 million average salary matches Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard for the second-highest in baseball, trailing only Alex Rodriguez's $27.5 million average with the New York Yankees.

Texas had hoped to re-sign the 2010 AL Most Valuable Player, who led the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

Daniels said he had been informed of the decision by Hamilton's agent, Michael Moye.

Daniels said he was disappointed "to some degree," especially since the Rangers never got a chance to match an offer, as they had expected. Or at least be contacted before Hamilton agreed with another team.

"I never expected that he was going to tell us to the dollar what they had, and a chance to offer it. Our full expectation, the phone call was going to be before he signed, and certainly not after," Daniels said. "Everybody's got to make their own calls."

Hamilton joins a team that spent big last offseason to add first baseman Albert Pujols for $240 million and pitcher C.J. Wilson — Hamilton's Texas teammate — for $77.5 million. Yet, the Angels disappointed and failed to make the playoffs.

"He's a tremendous talent and I think that they've shown they're going to be in on a lot of the best players out there," Daniels said. "No sugarcoating it, we wanted the player back. And he signed with the Angels. They're better."

The agreement came days after the Los Angeles Dodgers added pitchers Zack Greinke and Ryu Hyun-jin, boosting their payroll over $200 million.

Greinke, another offseason target, said he chose the Dodgers over the Rangers.

The 31-year-old slugger was considered a risk by some teams because of his history of alcohol and substance abuse, which derailed his career before his surge with the Rangers over the past five seasons.

"Josh has done a lot for the organization, the organization has done a lot for Josh, a lot of things that aren't public and things of that nature," Daniels said. "I'm a little disappointed how it was handled, but he had a decision to make and he made it."

Hamilton had a career-high 43 home runs with 128 RBIs in 148 games last season, when the Rangers struggled down the stretch and lost the division to Oakland on the final day of the regular season.

Texas then lost in the winner-take-all wild-card game against Baltimore, and Hamilton was booed by Rangers fans while going 0-for-4 — twice striking out on three pitches, including an inning-ending out in the eighth with a runner in scoring position when it was still a 3-1 game.

Dempster would help a rotation led by Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, promising young pitchers coming off subpar seasons. At the other end of the staff are Franklin Morales and Felix Doubront, pitchers the Red Sox hope can develop into dependable starters. John Lackey returns after missing last season due to elbow ligament-replacement surgery.

Dempster, 12-8 with a 3.38 ERA this year, gives the Red Sox a reliable pitcher who has thrown more than 200 innings for four of the past five seasons. He was 5-5 with a 2.25 ERA with the Chicago Cubs this year before being traded to Texas. He was 7-3 with a 5.03 ERA for the Rangers.

The 32-year-old Correia was an All-Star in 2011 with Pittsburgh. He went 12-11 with a 4.21 ERA, 46 walks and only 89 strikeouts in 171 innings this year, losing his spot in the rotation when the Pirates traded for Wandy Rodriguez.

Twins starters went 39-75 with a 5.40 ERA last year, ahead of only Colorado.

Torres returns to Giants: Andres Torres is returning to the San Francisco Giants, who gave the outfielder his first chance as a regular two years ago.

Torres agreed to a $2 million, one-year contract Thursday with the reigning World Series champions. He must pass a physical to complete the deal, Giants vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans said.

The 34-year-old Torres spent last season with the New York Mets after three years with the Giants. He hit .230 this year with three home runs, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 132 games.